Wire-cable machine



(No Model.) 2 sheetssheen 1. H. B. COBB. WIRE CABLE MAGHINB.

Patented May 19,1891. RR

Y (No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

'11. B. COBB.

, WIRE CABLE MACHINE. No. 452,517. Patented May 19, 1891.

D 11' Qi fg/MWW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY B. COBB, OF \VILMINGTON, DELAVARE.

WIRE-CABLE MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 452,517, dated May 19, 1891. Application filed May 29, 1890. Serial No. 353,560. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may con/Gelati Be it known that I, HENRY B. COBB, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at` Wilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vire-Cable Machines, of which the following is a specification.

rIhe object of my invention is to provide an improved machine for the purpose of twisting wires together to form thereof cables, particularly for conducting electric currents.

My invention consists in the general construction of my improvement; and it also consists in details of construction and combinations of parts.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken sectional plan view of a cable-making machine provided with my improvements 5 Fig. 2, a view showing means for transmit-- ting the driving-power of the machine to the reel upon which the cable is wound as it is made, and Fig. 3 a section taken at the line 3 3 of Fig. l and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

A is the frame of the machine, formed of any suitable material, and preferably of the rectangular shape illustrated, being strengthened at intervals by braces B, through which passes a tubular rotary shaft C, supported toward its rear end in suitable bearings 't and t and toward its forward end by a rotary guide-block f, hereinafter referred to, in a bearing t2, the irst-named of which bearings is provided on an extension A atthe rear end of the frame A, and at eachbrace (or at each of so many of the braces as there are provided spool-carriers, hereinafter described) surrounding the shaft C is a short stationary sleeve r, which should be encircled at intervals by separate guide-grooves q, thenumber of which on each sleeve should correspond with the number of spools on each spool-carrier, as and for a purpose hereinafter explained. A sleeve r is provided on the rear end of the frame A, and between each sleeve r and the shaft C is an annular space s, the provision thereof forming the only material difference between the sleeves fr and o", the latter not requiring the annular space s.

D is the core-tube extending through the hollow shaft C, being secured therein against rotation, as by means of the pin or., inserted into it through the bearing 0c for its rear end, and provided at its forward projecting end with a nipple D', removably secured in place, as shown, whereby it may readily be supplanted by others having their openings in diameter suitable to admit through them cores of different thicknesses. From the forward end of the frame A extends a bracket p, supporting a guide-eye 19' for the cable as it is formed, and whence it is led to the reel E, the eye p being axially coincident with the opening in the nipple D, between which and the eye the twisting of the wires about the core-wire takes place.

F, Fig. 3, is a spool-carrier or rotary head, which I prefer to form as a hub o, secured to the shaft C to rotate with it, and preferably abutting against a sleeve o, and having arms n extending radially from it in desired number, according to the number of spools 71, (hereinafter described) it is intended to carry, though my improvement is not intended to be limited to'this particular form of the head F. Near the outer end of each arm n is a bearing m for a rotary spindle -Z, extending transversely of its supporting-arm, being confined in its position and provided at one projecting end with a pulley 7c, secured upon it to revolve with it, and'at its opposite projecting end with a framed, having journaled in its opposite sides a spool h for the wire to be laid up into the cable. As many of the heads F may be provided on the shaft C as the dimensions of the machine (which may be of any desired size) will accommodate, and all or any number thereof may be used at once, though, as shown, the intention is to provide Yfor their successive use by Stringing the wire from the spools in the manner indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l, and which Stringing operat-on is hereinafter more definitely referred to.

As shown in Fig. 3, the rotary head F (all the heads are alike) is provided with seven spools 7L, and,accordingly, is formed with seven radial arms, each carrying a rotary spindle Z, with its pulley 7o and frame fz'. It will be noticed on reference to Fig. 1 that the spindles Z there shown project at the ends carrying the pulleys 7c at varying lengths from their bearings, and this is true of each of the (seven) spindles on each head F, in order IOO that the pulley thereon may coincide, or at least approximately coincide, with a different plane on the stationary sleeve or bearing Ir or o" adjacent to the head, with which the pulley is connected by an endless band g, passed around it and the sleeve, on which latter it is preferred to provide a guidegroove for each band in line with the pulley thereby controlled.

The shaft C may be driven by connecting it with the driving-power through a belt-pulley II, and from the rotary shaft C, I operate the reel E through the media of the gearwheel w on the said shaft meshing with a similar wheel w on a counter-shaft 102, supported in bearings at a side of the frame A and carrying at its farther end a beveled gear i', (see Fig. 2,) meshing with a similar gear 'U' on a rotary shaft e2, carrying a belt-pulley Ir3, connected by a belt u, with a pulley a', like the pulley on the shaft u2 of the reel E.

'l`he`operation is as follows: The wires on the spools Zt (or any desired number of them) of a head F (say the first) are strung by passing them, respectively, through the ends of the frames t and thence through a perforated rotary guide-block f near the forward end of the shaft C, through the eye p', where they are brought together with the core-wire CZ, which is strung through the tube D and nipple D', and all the wires are thence led to the reel E. The shaft C is then rotated and all the wires from the said spools twisted around the wire CZ between the nipple D and eye p', being wound on the reel in the form of a cable thus produced by the twistin fr. It will be noticed that the head F and frames c', carrying the spools, rotate on the axis of the head, and that each spool by the unwinding of the wire from it is rotated on its axis in a direction at a right angle to the rotation of the head. lVere no means provided to prevent, these two directions of rotation would obviously produce twisting of the fiber of the wire, with the consequent well-known injury thereto. To prevent this result, the frames 'i are caused to rotate on their respective axes in the opposite direction from that of the rotation of the shaft C, and the means I provide for producing their described rotationnamely, the bands t, connecting the pulleys Zo with respectively coinciding planes on the slee\f*ebearings `r r-are simple and effective for their purpose. If, as shown, the heads F are intended to be used successively, as soon as the wires on the first have been exhausted, on stopping the machine, those on the next may be strung by leading them from the spools through the annular opening within the adjacent sleeve rand openings in the adjacent hub o and the rotary block f to the core, which may then comprise the cable formed by the previously-twisted wires and previously strung through the tube D. In the same manner all the heads F may be brought successively into operation, the wires being strung in each instance through all the sleeves fr Il" and perforated hubs o in advance of the respective heads, the cable previously formed being intended to be used in each instance as the core, though ofcourse it is not necessary that it should. However, such is my practice where a cable is formed consisting of a large number of twisted wires. Thus a core with its successive increments may repeatedly be passed through the core-tube and attached nipple, and, as hereinbefore suggested, nipples of correspondingly varying bores would then be used successively as the cable acquired increased proportions. It is also quite feasible with a machine of my improved construction, to have all or any number of the heads F in operation at the same time, provision then being of course made for stringing the wires through the sleeves r fr and hubs o in advance of the respective heads, and thus by a single operation of the machine a cable may be produced of twisted wires equaling in number the product of the number of spools h multiplied by the number of heads F used in the operation.

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is#

l. In a cable-making machine, the combination, with the 'frame A, of a rotary hollow shaft C, containing a stationary core-tube D and carrying a head F, a stationary bearing `'r or `r', surrounding the shaft, frames t' on rotary spindles Z on the head and adapted to carry spools, and pulleys Ze, coinciding, respectively, and connected by bands g with different planes on the said bearing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a cable-making machine, the combination, with the frame A, of a rotary hollow shaft C, containing a stationary core-tube D, provided with a nipple D', removably sccurcd on its forward end, a head F on the rotary shaft, a stationary bearing r er1", surrounding the shaft, frames i on rotary spindles Z on the head and adapted to carry spools, pulleys Zr, coinciding, respectively, and connected by bands g with different planes on the said bearing, and the bracket p, provided with an eye p', supported to coincide axially with the nipple D', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a cable-making machine, the combination, with the frame A, of a rotary shaft C, heads F, secured at intervals to the shaft and having rotary spindles Z, carrying frames 11, adapted to carry spools 71., pulleys 7c, supported on the spindles of each head at varying distances from their bearings, a stationarysleevebearing r or i", surrounding the shaft adjacent to each head, and bands g, connecting the pulleys 7o' of each said head, respectively,with an adjacent bearing on different planes thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a cable-making machine, the combination, with the frame A, of a rotary hollow shaft C, containing a stationary hollow core- IOC IZO

perforated block j' on the shaft, and Circumferentially grooved stationary sleeve bearings r or', surrounding ille shaft C near the hubs of the heads F, the Whole being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

HENRY B. COBB.

In presence of*- J. W. DYRENFORTH, M. J. FROST. 

